Great ways for your kids have fun and get exercise

1. Big Foot Relay. Have the children bring two shoeboxes with them. Tape the lids onto the boxes, then cut a one-inch-wide and four-inch long slit in each top. Have the contestants slip their feet into the slits in the boxes and race.

2. Batty Bowling. Find a number of silly or odd items that can be knocked over by a ball, such as a plastic milk carton, a candlestick, a stand-up doll, a plastic vase of flowers, a pizza box, a tower of empty cans, an umbrella stand, an empty oatmeal container, and a book. Line them up like bowling pins and let the bowlers try to knock them over with volleyballs, tennis balls, or golf balls.

3. Name-It Ball. Have players form a circle. Give one player a rubber ball. That player selects a category, such as "candy bars." He or she then bounces the ball to another player in the circle, who must catch the ball, state an item from the category, such as "Snickers," and keep the ball moving to the next player. If the player can't name an item, holds the ball too long, or repeats an item, he or she is out.

4. Frisbee Tower. Purchase a bunch of mini Frisbees and place them in a pile in the middle of the yard. Have the guests divide the Frisbees among themselves. The first player begins the activity by placing one of his or her Frisbees on the ground. Each of the following players places his or her Frisbee on top of the first Frisbee, and the action continues until someone causes the growing tower to topple.

5. Blind Walk. Create an obstacle path from one end of the yard to the other. Line up the contestants and let them have a good look at the path. One at a time, blindfold the children and have them walk the path without looking. Note each player's time on the scoreboard.

6. Cross Step. Draw a ten-by-ten grid on the sidewalk or patio with chalk. Have each player stand on a different square. One at a time, each player must move to a new square after crossing out the square she or he was formerly standing in. The trick is that players cannot step into a square that is occupied or crossed out. If a player cannot move to a new square, he or she is out. The game continues until one player is left.

7. Pick Pocket Tag. Put a strip of cloth in each player's back pocket. Have the players try to grab each other's strips without having their own strip taken. The player with the most cloth strips wins the game.

8. Kill the Cockroach. Divide the players into two teams. Line them up, one in front of the other and set an odd object in front of the first players in line. They must kick the object across the yard and the across the finish line to win a point for their team. Kick things like a pillow, empty can, a sock, and so on.

9. Drag the Body. Divide the group into two teams. Give each team a blanket. Have one player from each team lie down on the blanket. The teams must drag the body on the blanket from one end of the yard to the other. Whoever crosses the finish line first, wins.

10. Blind Snakes. Set up a number of sprinklers in between a starting line and a finish line. Have the kids try to run from one end to the other without getting sprayed. Have one of the kids control the faucet, turning it on and off at random. Award ribbons to the kids who play the longest without getting wet.

Set aside some time for outdoor fun! These outdoor activities for children provide great ways to have fun as a family

Badminton

I played Badminton for years before ever knowing a single rule. My mother bought us the racquets and the birdies (or “shuttlecocks”), and the net. We hooked up the net in the backyard and played for hours. We were mostly just hitting the birdie back and forth—so proud that we could actually get enough power behind a swing to get the birdie back over the net. It wasn't until I took lessons that I actually learned the rules of the game. At least I knew how to hit the birdie at that point. That's half the battle.

The racquets are lightweight and have a small, round, netted surface that you use to hit the birdie. The handle is long and thin and has a rubber, padded grip. The birdie has a rubber tip and lightweight body. The weight is in the rubber tip, which propels the birdie back and forth. The body is usually made of serrated plastic designed to look like feathers. The holes in the plastic allow air to pass through, which slows the birdie down a bit, and make its movement slightly unpredictable. You have to learn to use the racquet in just the right way to make the birdie go where you want it to go.

Bounce Eye

Materials: chalk, marbles

This game requires two or more players. Draw a circle about one foot in diameter. Have each player scatter an equal number of marbles inside the circle. The first player stands outside the circle. Holding a marble with an outstretched arm at eye level, he drops it into the circle. If his marble knocks any marbles out of the circle, his marble plus the marbles he knocked out belong to him. If he fails to knock any marbles out of the circle, his marble stays with the other marbles inside the circle. Players take turns trying to knock marbles out of the circle until there are no marbles left in the circle. At that point, the player with the most marbles is the winner.

 

Croquet

Croquet is a great game to have set up and ready to go for a backyard barbecue. It's a slow game of patience and precision and a great way to spend time chatting with your friends as you work your ball through the course. Croquet may be an ancestor of Billiards and Golf. The goal is to use a wooden mallet to hit a ball through a hole. Sound familiar?

The game is fine for kids to play—as long as they are big enough to hold the mallet; they are old enough to play.

You can buy a croquet set for under $100.

You can play the game with two to six players. You can play in teams or as individuals (otherwise known as “Cutthroat Croquet.”) Play usually takes about two hours.

To play the game, you will have to go to a sporting goods store and buy a croquet set. The set will consist of multicolored balls, long-handled mallets, about nine hoops (or wickets), and two wooden pegs.